Abstract
The effectiveness of a brief intervention based on individual cognitive behavioral counseling in mothers with signs of postnatal depression was evaluated. Patients undergoing a complicated delivery were invited to participate. Women who scored above a cut-off level (>12) on Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were randomized to either a brief individual cognitive behavioral counseling comprising three weekly 1 hour sessions (n = 33) or standard care (n = 34). Measures of postnatal depression were collected from EPDS, 1 month after birth and 1 month after treatment. Both groups showed a significant decline from baseline to follow-up, mean scores declined from 16.9 to 7.6 (intervention group) vs. 13.6 to 9.9 (control group; p < 0.001). There was a significant interaction effect (Group*Time) between the intervention and the control group showing a more rapid decline of EPDS scores for the intervention group (p < 0.001). The results suggest that brief cognitive behavioral counseling is an effective treatment in women at risk for developing postnatal depression.
Acknowledgement
We thank Praktikertjänst AB for the funding of the study.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.